Florida Gators' NCAA Tournament hopes shrinking after Thursday loss to Georgia
Georgia Bulldog starter Kolten Smith (9-2) baffled the Florida Gators for eight innings of two-run ball, while striking out a career-high twelve batters. With the help of three home runs, Georgia dispatched of the Gators 9-4 in a loss that puts Florida’s chances of even being eligible for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament in jeopardy.
The series opener was a slugfest, as the Bulldogs (39-12, 17-11 SEC) and Gators (26-26, 11-17 SEC) each launched three home runs apiece. Luke Heyman (2-for-4) and Brody Donay (1-for-4) smashed long balls for Florida, with the former delivering his second multi-homer game in UF’s last three contests.
Georgia jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning off of lefty Pierce Coppola. Leadoff man Corey Collins was plunked and later came in to score on a sacrifice fly to right field off the bat of Slate Alford. Paul Toetz then hit a two-out, two-run homer to right to cap off the frame. Georgia made it 4-0 in the second on a solo home run to center by Dillon Carter.
Florida answered in the top of the third to cut its deficit to 4-1. On a 1-2 offering, Heyman connected for a solo shot to left-center to put the Orange & Blue on the board. The Gators would get within two runs after Donay’s homer but Georgia put up three runs in the fifth inning and two more in the seventh to ice the game away.
Player of the Game
Luke Heyman: Heyman went 2-4 with two home runs and three RBI. His second home run marked a new career-high for Heyman with 13 on the season.
Notes
- Thursday’s official attendance was 3,900.
- Florida’s scoring streak of 131 consecutive games is the third-longest in program history (May 27, 2022-present).
- Caglianone extended his on-base streak to 38 straight contests while his 30-game hitting streak was snapped.
- Caglianone tied the fifth-longest, single-season hitting streak in SEC history and the longest hitting streak in the SEC since 2016.
- Caglianone has hit safely in 49 of 52 games while reaching safely in all but one contest.
- Caglianone’s 30-game streak is tied with Jacob Young (2019-21) for the UF program record.
- Heyman hit his 12th and 13th home runs of the season, setting a new single-season career high.
- Heyman owns two multi-homer performances in Florida’s last three games.
- Donay connected on his 11th homer of the campaign.
- Across the team’s last 81 tilts against SEC teams, Florida is 48-33.
- That includes a 40-30 regular-season mark.
- Florida is now 193-116-2 all-time vs. Georgia including an 86-65 mark in Athens.
- The Gators are 30-18 against the Bulldogs under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan (11-11 away).
- Florida has won 16 of the last 28 meetings.
What’s next for the Florida Gators
Florida and Georgia had their Friday game rescheduled from 6:00 p.m. ET to 1:00 p.m. ET. There is a threat of rain throughout the day but thunderstorms are expected at night. They will try and get the game in tomorrow but if they aren’t able to the two teams would need to play a doubleheader on Saturday, both of those games would be seven innings due to it being a travel day.
